3 minute read
Why Join the NAD Board?
BY AMY GOMME, STEVE HAMERDINGER, LIZ HILL, AND KEVIN RYAN
Picture yourself at a baseball field watching your favorite team play and not being able to understand what is being said over the speakers about the player who just struck out. You sigh in frustration when you see the coach come out of the dug out with his hands waving frantically at the referee. You see your neighboring fans “booing” the referee with their hands. You’re unable to have the same full fan experience as your hearing peers. You realize you’re not enjoying the game at the fullest capacity. This is the constant experience of many deaf people, not just at baseball games, but also throughout life. We’re frustrated when there’s no closed captions on planes when we watch movies, when there’s no interpreters for emergency announcements, when there’s VRIs provided instead of in-person interpreters at hospitals, and when we’re trying to excel at interviews with potential employers.
Do you wish you could make a change? Do you want to be part of a group that could start a revolution? Are you interested in being part of a decision that could be the beginning ripple that becomes a wave of change? This is why we joined the NAD board.
While change might not come quickly, it is still important for each of us within the deaf community to step up and say something.
Prior to joining the NAD, many of us first got involved with our local state associations or nonprofit organizations. We invested in these groups by being an active member. Such experiences taught us various tools and skills which eventually allowed us to take our next step – to be active as NAD members. As NAD members, we were able to contribute towards a national cause that was for all of us. From there, we decided to run for a position on the NAD Board.
The NAD needs YOU, Deaf community members from all walks of life, to consider being active in the NAD and also joining the NAD Board. We need members from every part of the country with every possible viewpoint. The deaf community needs to think about the future and how the NAD Board can take a part in that. What impacts us now has an impact on future generations. If there’s an issue in one place, chances are other people are experiencing the same issue in all parts of the country. The NAD Board can address it on a national level. If you think the NAD doesn’t need your input, think again. If you are the kind of person who thinks out of the box, the kind of person who has innovative ideas, then you are who we need on the NAD Board!
As a NAD Board member, you can be the person who helps to makes sure that a baseball game is accessible, that a parent will not struggle to get full accessibility when their first child is born, that a deaf adult shall not have a hard time obtaining much needed resources about long term care for their parents, that a certain policy protects our rights, that deaf education is made a priority for all deaf youth – that People of Color, LGBTQIA, DeafBlind people, seniors, and youth are included in discussions on all issues. Together, we can fight against the injustice of unemployment and underemployment of deaf and hard of hearing people, language deprivation, VRI barriers, and more.
That is why we need you involved with the NAD and also serving on the NAD Board. We need for you to tell us what is or is not accessible to you. These issues impact us on the local level, on the state level, on the national level.
Innovative, creative, and invested people who are ready to volunteer their time are needed to join the NAD Board. Together, we can make everything ABOUT US, WITH US, FOR US. Let’s make this a home run for the NAD, the deaf community and everything that it stands for.
Amy Gomme is the Region IV Board Representative.
Liz Hill is the Region I Board Representative.
Steve Hamerdinger Steve is the Region III Board Representative.
Kevin Ryan is the Region II Board Representative.
